Data leaks and breaches

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A woman with brown hair and earrings, resting her chin on her hands while looking thoughtfully at a computer screen in a dimly lit room.
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Close-up of a white sphere against a light blue background.
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What are data leaks and public breaches?

Data leaks and public breaches happen when your personal information is exposed, lost, or shared without proper protection. This can happen through accidents, such as losing a device or accidentally sharing sensitive information, through media reporting, where a website publishes inaccurate or misleading information about you, or through public breaches, where a company, app or service you use is hacked and your data is exposed.

Get help with data leaks and breaches now

Read our step-by-step guides to learn about, recover from, and contain accidents, media reporting, and public breaches.

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    Lost device

    You have lost a device and are trying to find it or limit the damage of lost information.

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    Accidental information share

    You have accidentally shared sensitive or confidential information online.

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  • Icon of a tablet displaying a document with a large X symbol on it, set against a yellow circular background.

    Online reporting issue

    A website has published fake or inaccurate information about you.

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  • Icon of a hand holding a smartphone with a warning triangle and exclamation mark on the screen, indicating a warning or alert.

    Data breach

    A company, app, online account or service you use has been hacked and your data has been impacted.

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    I'm not sure what's happened, but something isn't right

    Our free helpline helps individuals and sole traders understand, contain, and recover from cyber attacks and incidents.

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A woman in a yellow polka-dot blouse wearing a headset, working on a laptop in an office.

Speak to an expert

Some cybercrime cases require a helping hand or further investigation. If you have spoken to our chatbot, read our guides, and still need more help with your issue, our chatbot can connect you to a real cybersecurity expert.

Seek expert help
Seek expert help
Contact support organizations
Contact support organizations

*Please note our volunteer helpline service is currently only available if you live in the UK or USA. We aim to get back to your request within 3 days.

Live in the UK?

If you are located in the United Kingdom, we have specific guides tailored to your region.

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Read UK guides
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Talk to our chatbot

Our chatbot service and guides are completely free and can be accessed wherever you are in the world.

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